Royal Pain
by Psychotic Trio
Summary: crossover fic because the teachers are existing anime characters. Rest are mine and Raging Psyco's. CH 3 IS UP! In chapter 4, the crossover comes in. Good story with lots of humor, lots of angst, and in the future... lots of romance!
1. A Normal Morning

Barking Inuyasha: Hi everyone! This is a story that I, with some co-authoring from Raging Psyco, have come up with. I own all the characters, except for the ones Raging Psyco or Sasukeheartlover have made up, and the teachers; because they're anime characters from existing shows. Why do I have pre-existing anime characters as teachers in my story? Because I wanted to post it on to see if it was any good, so it's a crossover fic.

Disclaimer: I own everyone in the first chapter. YAY ME!

Normal POV

**Ch.1 Sunday Morning, October 23, 2005: A Normal Morning at the Ryu Masion**

A scream echoed through the large mansion at about 7 A.M. It was a female scream, loud and sharp, full of fear. Two young men shot simaltaneously out of their beds, each in separate parts of the house, both on the third floor. They ran out of their rooms, and up separate staircases. Once up the stairs, they were each running staight for the middle of a hall, heading for the door at the exact middle of the hallway. They were running at full speed, and...BAM! They ran into each other head first.

They were lying spralled on the floor. One had purpley-red hair with very visible purple highlights and dark blue eyes that looked like they were pained, not just by the force of his run-in with the other boy. He was handsome, but now his face looked very angry, he was dressed only in a pair of really baggy, black pajama pants. The other boy had reddish-blond hair with red highlights. He was handsome, too, except his eyes were closed in pain. He was dressed in a pair of teal colored shorts and a red t-shirt with a big orange s-shaped thing on it.

"Danmmit..." the purpley-redhead growled softly, rubbing his head.

The other boy sat up opening his silvery sky blue eyes. "Now , now Haru-kun. Watch your language." the blond said in a mock-stern voice, shaking a finger in the other boy's, Haru's, face.

Haru gave the blond an evil look as he got up. "Shut up, Botan." he growled menacingly, yanking the blond, Botan, up by the collar of his loose t-shirt off the floor. "What're you doing here anyway?"

"Because I heard Beauty-chan scream. A man can't just stand idily by while a beautiful girl is screaming in fear or pain." he replied dramatically.

Haru looked at Botan for a moment, thinking of how many ways he could kill him for thinking that way about his younger sister. "You're such a perv." Haru punched Botan in the head, just hard enough to sting for a while, then opened the door and ran in, right after dropping Botan to the floor.

"Ow!"" Botan yelped in protest, then followed Haru in.

Yumi's POV

I had that dream again. I hate this! My remaining family all think that I'm a nut job! My older brother and older cousin just came into my room. They looked really worried. Maybe it's because I'm shaking like crazy. Botan, my older cousin, ran up and hugged my head hard into his chest.

"It's alright, Beauty-chan. Everything's fine. No need to fear." he cooed, stroking the back of my head like a really weird Grandmother or something. Ugh... this is why I don't think that he's gonna live past the age of nineteen, I want to kill him! He's talking to me as if I'm a baby and invading my pesronal space bubble. And, to make matters worse he called me Beauty-chan! He's been watching to much Bo-Bobo (A/N: that show's really stupid. But I can't help but watch it.). I'm gonna hit him so hard...

"Get off, you weird-o Grandma!" my voice was muffled. Botan didn't catch it, but Haru did. He grabbed Botan by the back of the shirt and pulled him off of me.

"Get. Out." Haru said through gritted teeth, right before tossing Botan out the door. I heard an 'ow!' come from outside. I laughed a little at that. Botan is such a dork. While I was thinking about how much of an idiot my cousin was, Haru had made his way through my messy room. Did I mention that my room was messy? It's really bad, you can hardly see my floor! But, that's beside the point. Haru made his way through my room and sat down on the edge of my bed, and looked at me with a worrid expression. Wow! The Prince of Depression was actually showing an emotion beside sorrow and anger! I'm amazed!

"Yumi, did you have that dream again?" Haru asked quietly. I got up and crawled over to sit next to him.

"Yeah..." I answered, sitting down beside him and hugging my knees to my chest. I've been having this dream for about two months now. I don't want to talk about the details now.

"You've been having this dream on and off for the past couple months! Ever since-"

"Stop! Don't talk about that!" I interupted him angrily. I really don't want to think about that. It makes me think about the dream all over again, and I just want to forget about both of those things right now.

"But Yumi! You have to talk about it! Maybe you should..."

"Don't go there!" I interupted him, but he ignored me and continued on.

"Have some..."

"Shut up , Haru!" I was getting ready to hit him, but he still continuned.

"Therapy!"

I shot up from my bed and stood in front of my brother defiantly, extremly angry. "I am not going to therapy! It's for crazy people! ... and Botan!"

"I'm still here you know, I can hear every word you are saying!" Botan yelled from outside the door. We ignored him.

"Well at least he got help! You can't keep hurting yourself like this!" Haru yelled, standing up and looming over me. I'm only about five foot one, and he's, like six foot four, so yeah, it's looming.

"I don't want to talk to someone who would ask me stuff about my life that's none of their bisness. I'll tell you when I'm good and ready!" I was already yelling. This how all our arguements turn out. It starts out calm, and one of us gets the other pissed off, and then we're all yelling. One biiiiiiig happy family.

"Well get ready faster, dammit! We don't like seeing you like this." he quited down after he said the last bit. He put his hands on my shoulders. "Sis..." he looked like he was about cry. "You have to tell me. If you don't then I can't make it any better."

My eyes softened as my heart broke in two. I put a hand on one of his and looked up at him. "Haru.. I just... can't yet. It's not your fault so don't blame yourself. Okay?" I took his hands off my shoulders and stepped back. "Now why don't you leave so I could get dressed."

Haru smiled a little, so small in fact that I could hardly see it. "Fine. You got off easy this time."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out out of my room!" I pushed him to the door.

"Okay, okay! I know the way!" I stopped pushing him and went to my drawer to pick what I was going to wear. I heard the door open and shut, and Haru was gone. I sighed with relief. I thought that he would try to make me spill it this time.

I looked through my clothes and decided on an over-sized black shirt with a smiley face and 'I'm no longer a danger to society' on it and some baggy, dark blue jeans.

After I got dressed, went over to the full-length mirror and looked at myself. I put my reddish-purple hair into my normal behind-the-ears pigtails and put all my earrings in. In my right ear has one in the lobe (normal spot) and my left one had one there, too, but it also had two small hoop earrings in the cartilage (top part). I have bright purple eyes. People have mistaken me for a demon in disgiuse, because puprle is not a normal eye color, also for my violent tendencies but that's beside the point. Oh well... you can leave now, too.. I want to be alone right now. Go talk to Botan or something.

Botan's pov

Hello! I'm Botan! But you probably already knew that! But oh well, I'm Botan! Right now I'm walking down the stairs so I can get to the second floor. That's where the kitchen is. I like the kitchen. I cook everyone breakfast all the time. Well, mostly all the time. I like cooking. It's fun!

Why am I cooking all by myself? Well, that's a sad, but unavoidable fact. My parents are on longer with us. And I mean dead, not on vacation for life or something. They were murdered about two months ago, along with Haru and Yumi's parents, my dear aunt and uncle.

I bet you're wondering why they were murdered. We don't know. The only person who might have a clue is Yumi-chan, but she's not talking. Why would she know? Because she was there to see her parents get murdered, as well as her younger brother, Tomi. So Haru is the sole male left in the respectable Ryu line, who can inherit the eldest son's birthright. Which I'm keeping a secret for now. Why? (A/N: He likes asking questinons, don't he?) Well, I'm the evil younger cousin, so why not? And yes, Haru is older than me by one month, and one month only. We're related because our dads were twin brothers. Haru's dad was older.

Can you guess our little secret yet? No? Well, keep trying. You'll get it eventually. Eventually.

But I'm getting off subject. Or topic. Or whatever you want to call it. Yumi refuses to talk about what she saw. She won't even say if the murderer was a male or female. Or if there was more than one. So Haru has been trying to get her to talk about it in therapy, which convinced her that we all think she's crazy. By the way, we didn't live here when it happened. We were living in different parts of the kingdom before the murders happened. This is our childhood home. It's traditional for all the Ryus to live together in this mansion when there are new children in the family. That way we already know each other pretty well, and can form a strong family-friend bond early on.

But now I'm in the kitchen. Yay kitchen! But boy are my legs tired! Maybe we should get an elevator... Oh yeah, we already have one. But now, it's cooking ti-

"Onii-kun?" (A/N: Onii-kun means big brother) Kane's soft voice questioned form the room next to the kitchen, the third living room. Kane is my little sister. She's so cute, in her cute little teddy-bear pajamas, with her cute little bear tucked under her arm, and her cute little pigtails. sticking out sideways from her cute little head. (A/N: Botan likes to say cute) Kane has blondish-red hair, the exact opposite of mine, with blond highlights. Her silverey-dark blue eyes peered at me, with a nervous and anxious glint in them.

"Good morning, Kane-chan!" I said cheerfully, walking over and giving her a big hug, hoping to dispell the nervous anxiety in her eyes. "Where's Kari-chan?"

"She's still sleeping." Kane replied quietly. "What happened? Yumi-chan's screaming woke me up."

"Nothing top worry about, sweetheart, she just had that bad dream again." I replied quietly, stroking my little sister's hair softly.

"O.K." Kane said quietly. We sat like that in silence for a minute or two, then I couldn't take the gloom anymore, and lept up, with a cheerful, "Whaddaya want for breakfast, Kane-chan?"

"I want pancakes! A lotta lotta pancakes!" she replied, sounding more like her usual self. After all, she's eight years old, she shouldn't worry about those kinds of things just yet.

"Alright then, I'll make a BIIIIIG breakfast, with pancakes and eggs and bacon and sausages and cinnamon buns and donuts and milk and juice and omlettes, with a special fish omlette for Kari-chan." I laughed, thinking of my special secret surprise of the day. Not even Kane knew what it was, and I'm certanly mot gonna tell you. After all, a surprise is a surprise.

"Wow, Onii-kun, that's alot of food!" said Kane, laughing too, giving me a little nudge in the ribs.

"Yeah, and if all those lazy-butts don't come down here soon, we'll have to eat it all by ourselves." I replied, nudging her in the ribs and sending her a few winks.

"Even Kari-chan's fish-"

"FISH!" Well, well, speak of the devil. Or should I say, kitten.

Normal POV

An average ten year old girl streaked into the kitchen, leaping onto Botan's back. She clung there happily, repeating "Fishy fishy fish-y" in a cheerful, singsong-y voice. At least, she looked mostly like an average ten year old girl. She had short, purple hair, about chin length, but that was the least unusual feature. She had a pair of red-purple ears perched on her head, and a fluffy, red-purple cat tail poking out of her fish-patterned pajama bottoms. She also had two red-purple stripes curving along each cheek, and three coming from her chin up to her mouth.

"Well, well, look at what the cat dragged in." said Botan, pleased with his own joke. After all, Kari is a full cat demon. The Ryu family had taken her under their wing, once they found her rooting through their garbage one night, desparate for food. Her mother had disappeared a few weeks before hand, no doubt lynched by a group of demon haters. Kari had waited as long as she could in the house for her mother to come back, until hunger and thirst drove her outside to scrounge for food. But she was safe and sound in the Ryu mansion. They didn't care what kind of blood flowed through her veins or what she looked like. She was happy there. (A/N: Raging Psyco: I love Kari! But she's got such a sad story...)

Botan took Kari off his back and set her gently down on the ground. "Kari, I gotta make the fish omlette first." He gently nudged both girls into the dining room, on the opposite side of the kitchen than the third living room. (A/N: Yes folks, it's a BIG mansion. Hence the term MANSION.) "You girls play while I prepare our breakfast feast."

"O.K!" cried Kane, who then grabbed Kari by the hand and dragged her into the dining room. Kari was still happily singing "Fishy fishy fish-y" to herself, and let herself be pulled along. Botan then dove into the task of cooking the massive breakfast he had all planned out.

Some time later, Haru walked into the kitchen in all his wet and shirtless glory (A/N: SARCASM! Although all the Haru-chasers at the highschool would kill to see him like this), looking as gloomy as ever. (apparantly after that morning's incident, he took a shower, put on some pants, and went down to the second floor kitchen)

"Well aren't you just a bright ball of sunshine this morning!" Botan said in a cheerful 8mm voice. (A/N: Raging Psyco: The eight milimeter part got typed up when I threw Barking Inuyasha's rat on the keyboard, and it sounds cool, so we'll keep it. I'll put the rest of what the rat typed at the end of the chapter :-) )

"Well aren't YOU the most annoying person in the world!" mocked Haru, messing up his face in a ridiculous impersonation of Botan himself. Then he noticed all the food Botan was cooking and had already cooked. "Why the fugg are you cooking so much food?"

"'Fugg'? What the hairball do you mean 'fugg' in your thin-guy-ma-doober?" (A/N: Raging Psyco: I made this up on the spot, based on my favorite sayings 'Thing-a-ma-doob' and 'Thing-a-ma-boob' and other variations of the saying)

"What the fugg do you mean '"Fugg"? What the hairball do you mean "fugg" in you whatever-the fugg you just said?'" Haru then leaned closer to talk to Botan in 'his' language. Evilly he hissed in Botan's ear, "I'm trying to keep young ears innocent. Those kids are in the other room, so hell no, I'm not gonna fuckin' say fuck where they can hear it and ask their teachers about it later. Or anyone for that matter." Haru then raised his voice again. "And what do you mean by 'hairball'? What are you, a dumba- aaahh uuuhhhh... donkey..." Haru nearly swore when ' innocent ears ' could hear hear him, so his voise trailed dumbly off, leaving him with a slacked jaw, peering into the room with the ' innocent ears ' to . Botan laughed silently, but histerically, rolling on the kitchen floor, holding his sides in an attempt to control his laughter. It was all he could do to keep tears of laughter from running down his face. Haru immediately kicked him in the gut to shut him up, then walked off to sulk in his brooding silence at the dining room table.

Botan continued to cook more breakfast, once he had fully recovered from that kick and was able to stand again, checking the clock frequently. Just as he finished the last bit of food at ten o'clock exactly, the doorbell rang. Through some miracle, Botan had kept all the food at just the right temperature when he wasn't cooking it. When Haru heard the doorbell, he just sighed, covered his ears, and groaned "Here we go again."

As the doorbell rang, Yumi thundered down the stairs, making Kari temporarily think the house was falling down, and Kane thought Yumi was falling down all three floors, as well as all the stuff in her room, including her bed and dresser. Kari began shreiking "HOLY FISH!" and dove for cover under the table, Kane screaming "CALL AN AMBULANCE! HELP YUMI-CHAN!", while Yumi was yelling "I'LL GET IT! I'LL GET IT!" at the top of her lungs over and over as she stampeded down to the front door in her clothes, sliding to a stop just before crashing into the door.

"No matter how many times you do that, Beauty-chan, I'll never get used to it." Botan yelled from the kitchen, trying to preserve his remaining dignity as he stepped down from the counter, where he had leaped up in fear, armed with a ladle and a pot helmet. Once he noticed everyone was staring at him, he yelled, "Beauty-chan knocked them down on me when she ran down the stairs! I swear!"

"Uh-huh," replied Haru sarcastically, turning away from his cousin, with a sarcastic roll of the eyes. Yumi simply crossed her arms and cocked and eyebrow at her kinda pathetic older cousin. The younger girls had already forgotten about the morning crisis, and were sitting at the table. loudly chanting "FOOD FOOD FOOD" so everyone would hurry up and serve breakfast already. Then the doorbell rang again, drawing everyone's attention back to the original task at hand. Botan began to serve breakfast, but said you couldn't eat it yet, to the dismay of Kari and Kane.

Yumi opened the door and...

(A/N: Raging Psyco: CHOCOLATE AND LOLIPOPS!)

"Package for a Mr. Ryu Botan?" asked the postman nervously, looking around like an earthquake was about to occur. Well, he probnably thought one had. After all, Yumi's pretty dang noisy on those stairs. Botan politely signed for the packages and set them down in the third living room, even though he looked slightly disappionted at who was at the door. But before anyone had the chance to ask what was in the mysterious packages, the doorbell rang again. Botan brightened up and began serving the food happily again (A/N: He's a horrible actor) as Yuim opened the door again when suddenly...

IN LEPT THE FLYING DEATH NINJAS OF PLANET ZAGLUTHOBONUES! (A/N: Raging Psyco: JUST KIDDING!)

Na, just kidding with ya, this is the end of chapter one. And forget the whole death ninjas thing. That doesn't really happen. Well, I guess you'll have to wait until next chapter to find out who's REALLY at the door, what's in the packages, why we said Botan is such a bad actor, and pizzas for reviewers! Also, in your review, try and guess the secret Botan mentions earlier in his POV. Until next time!

From Barking Inuyasha's Rat, Lulu:

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/l;xz /uui6666666666 ,0e4 rlu 7nhjrr 4 5r uiu 8isx ,v

**END OF CHAPTER ONE.**


	2. Old Friends and a Mystery Box

Barking Inuyasha: Hello! This is the second chapter of Royal Pain. In this chapter you'll meet three more of my wonderful characters! As well as find out what Botan's surprise and secret is.

Raging Psyco: YAYNESS! Oh, and by the way, (A/N: blahblahblah)means Barking Inuyasha is giving the author's note, and (A/N: Raging Psyco: blahblahblah) means I'm doing the author's note. Just wanted to let ya know!

Barking Inuyasha: TO CLEAR IT UP!

Disclaimer: I, once again, own all the characters in this chapter! As well as the plot. YAY ME!

Normal POV

**Ch 2 10/23/05: Old Friends and a Mystery Box**

Yumi opened the door and was about to say hello when...

Yumi's POV

"POOR YUMI-CHAN!"

I was tackled to the floor by an unknown person. I could tell it was a guy because he was very flat... if you know what I mean. But he sounded kinda like a girl, though. He's sobbing into my neck now, who is this person? My mind was telling me to push the guy off me, tell him off, and maybe hit him with my "Idiot-be-good Stick", (A/N: Yumi's "Idiot-be-good Stick" is a heavy metal bat that she carries everywhere with her. Just so you know. It's known to others as the "Scorch-be-good Stick" (A/N: Raging Psyco: You'll meet him soon)) but my body wouldn't move. As if it knew somehow that I wasn't in any danger.

"Kaito-chan... why don't you stop molesting Yumi-chan so she can get up. I want to see her." That was a definite female voice, and loaded with sarcasm, to boot.

The guy (Kaito) sat up and sobbed, "I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY!" and then got off me, wiping his eyes and nose and sniffling every once in a while.

I got up and looked at the two people in front of me. Kaito was indeed a boy, as I had suspected. He was short (about my height, maybe a few centimeters taller) and had light brown hair with purple highlights. He had bright blue, shiny eyes, and was wearing a cerulean colored t-shirt with a pink stripe going down from his left shoulder and a purple one going across from his left shoulder to his right one. He was also wearing light blue colored jeans, and pretty cute, in a kid sorta way.

The girl, I didn't know her name yet, was about four inches taller than Kaito and had long blue hair with sky blue highlights. She had dark green eyes, and was wearing a v-neck long-sleeved shirt that had a turquoise collar and was maroon and mahogany striped and a pair of blood red capris. She also had a light blue dog collar around her neck, and the tag had the kanji (A/N: Kanji is Japanese writing symbols. THEY'RE PRETTY!) for star on it.

"Who are you people?" I asked, crossing my arms and looking at them suspiciously.

"Oh no! Kimi-chan, she has amnesia!" Kaito broke down into heaving, enormous sobs. Was it even possible for someone to cry that hard? Never mind, I already knew that, through personal experience...

But never mind me; I felt really sorry and kinda bad for him. I mean, he was so... distressed. I walked up and put a hand on his shoulder; he looked at me and stopped crying. "Maybe if you guys tell me your full names and tell me how you know me, I'll remember." I said, trying to comfort this... Drama-Queen... boy. I heard Botan and Haru whispering in the kitchen, and Kane and Kari eating their breakfast happily. I guess Botan couldn't keep them from eating any longer. He's such a pushover. Realizing my mind was straying, I turned my attention back to Kaito and "Kimi-chan".

"I'm Fujiwara Kaito," Kaito said pointing to himself, sniffling loudly, "And this Nakamura Kimiko. We knew each other since we were young."

Then it hit me! "Kaito-chan... Kimi-chan?" I asked, feeling a sudden wave hope wash over me.

"I've already said that!" Kaito said in a whiney voice, rubbing his eyes hard with his forearm.

I grabbed them both by the hand and pulled them into a big hug. "I've missed you guys! Kaito, you haven't changed a bit!"

"Yes I have!" Kaito said indignantly, crossing his arms. "I've gotten cuter."

I ignored that last comment. "But Kimiko... I thought you had a tail? or was I just hallucinating all those years?" You see, Kimiko is a full wolf demon, so she should have a tail... and pointy ears, for that matter.

"Nah, I have a tail." she said, waving her hand carelessly, as though the matter wasn't all that important. I guess it wasn't, really. But I still had to know.

"Then where is it?" I asked scratching my head, as Kaito started to hang on my hand, putting all his weight on it and smiling happily.

She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and said, "Up my butt." I should have caught the sarcasm in her voice, but my brain was just so happy to see them again, I didn't.

"WHAT!" Botan, Haru, and I yelled at the same time, eyes so wide that they could pop out of our heads. Kaito immediately began rolling around on the floor, laughing his ass off.

"Dog! (A/N: Raging Psyco and I say dog instead of god because we're agnostic) Are you guys that gullible?" Kimiko exclaimed, uncrossing her arms and rolling her eyes in exasperation. She looked at us as if we were the stupidest people in the world. "I'm wearing concealment! I can't run around in public with a tail! Especially with all the demon haters out there!"

Haru and I lowered our heads in embarrassment. I totally forgot all about the demon haters.

"Well there aren't any demon haters here, Kimi-chan, so you can just take it off." Botan said cheerfully, then he looked at the floor where Kaito was still rolling around, but now giggling his ass off, not laughing anymore (A/N: There is a difference... yes there is!... Is too!... Make the voices stop!). "Kaito-chan, get off the floor and come to the table!"

"Okies!" Kaito replied, jumping up happily and skipping off after Botan.

"Does he always act this childish?" I asked turning toward Kimiko.

"Yeah, you get used to it." she brought her hands behind her neck. "Well if its okay with you guys, I'll take it off."

I watched as she took off the dog collar and her body changed in this way: her ears grew out a bit and pointed, a small black star on her right cheek directly under her eye appeared, and a long blue tail, that reached down to her mid-calf, came out of her backside.

I looked at Haru for a moment, who still hasn't put on his shirt, and saw that he was looking at Kimiko with a serious expression on his face. I wonder what he's thinking. I look back to Kimiko, who had already started to walk to the table, where every one else was already eating happily and talking. I followed her, looking back at Haru again, to see him look really depressed. I once again wonder what he's thinking.

Botan's POV

THE BIG SECRET I HAD IS THE WE'RE ROYALTY! Heeheeehee! Just wanted to tell ya before Haru or anyone else did!

Haru's POV

Demon Haters. I hate Demon Haters. They're the ones who make all the innocent people suffer. They're the reason that Morita Namiko-san was murdered and why Shimizu Kari was orphaned and came to live with us. They're the ones who had my father (King Ryu Taro) constantly coming back to this area to sort things out. (This area of the Kingdom has the highest amount of demon hating activity) And it constantly made my mother (Queen Ryu Ai) spend nights pacing the floor in agitation, fearful for the lives of all her demon friends who lived nearby. The first thing I'm going to do when I take the throne is make those bastards pay for what they do to people who didn't even do anything bad.

What would those people do if they found out that the Ryu family has small traces of demon blood in their veins? Nobody in our family knows but me. If they found out, would they try to kill us too? They already blame demons for the death of my parents, kid brother (Prince Ryu Tomi), and aunt (Princess Ryu Nozomi) and uncle (Prince Ryu Tomo). Why? Because Yumi won't tell us who killed them.

It's hurting her, keeping her emotions in like this. I can see it painted on her face, especially at night, after the nightmares. I'm afraid that one day she's going to commit suicide. It's my fault. I'm too stern and cynical. I'd sooner make a crack about the problem than say anything comforting. Why can't I be more sensitive? What if the murderer came back to kill her? What would I do? I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

Trying to keep my mind off the painful subject, I turned and watched as Kimiko took off her concealment, yet another thing I'll try to get rid of, when Yumi looked at me. But not just any old look. It was the kind of look only your little sister can pull off. She actually wrote the question 'What are you thinking about now?' with her expression. Her talents will never cease to amaze me. She put a different question on, and then glanced down at my chest and back, raising an eyebrow. I looked at myself and noticed that I still haven't put on my shirt.

The two girls walked to the table together, and I followed, slipping on my black, thin, long-sleeved turtle-neck. When I sat down, I looked around at everyone. Yumi, sitting between Kaito and Kimiko, was catching up with her best friends; Kane and Kari were already gone from the table, playing in the living room. Botan, who was sitting across from me, was also looking around, with a big smile on his face. He noticed me looking at him and smile brightly at me. How can he always be so happy? I can't understand him. Maybe that's why I can't stand being around him. He never even got depressed after the murder, like I did. I asked him why once, and what he told me was that he couldn't allow himself to be sad, because he had to be happy for Kane, so she wouldn't be sad. Why can't I be like that? Why? Must have been the therapy.

DING DONG

"I'LL GET IT!" Yumi yelled at the top of her lungs. She scared the shit out of everyone at the table, and made everyone but me jump, but I'm used to her, and nobody else really is. Kimiko just looked at her, eyes wide, and Kaito and Botan both screamed and hugged each other in fear. Yumi shot out of her seat, causing her chair to fly out of the large window behind her, and I swear that I heard a loud exclamation of 'Holy shit!' come from outside (A/N: There goes the mailman, second one this week). Jeez, she seriously needs to chill. She ran to the door and I got up to follow her.

Normal POV

Yumi ran to the door and opened it. "Hello. How may I help you?"

"Well, you could start by telling me your name, Pretty Lady." Yumi looked at the stranger, who was raising his eyebrows suggestively. He was a guy, by the looks of him about the age seventeen. He was pretty tall, at least a foot taller than Yumi, and he had a handsome face, mostly covered by his brown hair that flopped in front of his face, it had green highlights. He had yellow eyes and was wearing a black shirt with the big, blackish-maroon kanji for fire on it, and a pair of dark blue shorts that went down to a little below his knees. He also had a necklace on with a round charm that had the fire kanji on it.

"Like what you see?" The boy smirked confidently, noting that she was scanning him with her eyes. 'Sheesh! What a pig', Yumi thought angrily, crossing her arms.

"Who are you?" She snapped, raising an eyebrow threateningly.

"Tell me your name first, then I'll tell you mine." He asked, confidently taking a step into the house.

"Who are you?" that was Haru this time, he didn't like the way this guy was talking to his sister.

"Ah..." The boy walked up to Haru, "Hey Haru!" He patted him on the back friendly. "Since when did you get such sexy maids?" he said confidently, nudging Haru in the ribs and waggled his eyebrows suggestively again (A/N: This guy makes a lot of suggestive facial movements, don't he?) Yumi was getting angry.

"WHAT! You know that you're implying incest!" Haru yelled, his voice a mixture of anger and disgust, jumping away from the weird boy, and catching the attention of everyone in the house.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked, startled.

Before Haru could answer, Yumi cut him off. "HE MEANS THAT I'M HIS SISTER, YOU DUMBASS!" she snapped angrily, looking like she was going to punch this boy in the face. Which she would do, if he didn't start explaining himself.

The boy's eyes grew enormously wide. He opened his mouth and then he closed it, he opened it and this time looked like he was about to say something, but...

"Scorchie-chan! What're you doing flirting with Yumi-chan?" Kaito asked happily, walking over and putting an arm around the fuming Yumi's shoulder.

"Yeah Scorch, What'cha think you're doin' to her?" Kimiko said teasingly, also walking over to put an arm around Yumi's other shoulder, who is still fuming.

"Scorch, take the concealment off, change back into your Hanyou (A/N: Hanyou means half-demon) form, and then come to breakfast, your late!" Botan called from the table.

The boy, Scorch, was still speechless. "Wha... That's Yumi-chan? The little eight-year-old, who would beat up the boys who made fun of Kaito when we were little? Are you sure?"

Yumi glared at him evilly "And you're the eleven-year-old who used to cry if anyone touched your tail."

Scorch's face flushed a little, "Yeah, well... that's in the past" He said through gritted teeth. "I've change since then." He looked her up and down again and smirked. "So have you. Which reminds me, and I must ask before I forget, but when on earth did you get so hot?"

Yumi blushed a deep crimson, and her brother rolled up on of his sleeves. Haru was about to beat this guy to a bloody pulp, because nobody talks about his sister like that and gets away with it! He took a step closer to Scorch his fist raised, but before he got close enough, Yumi swung her "Idiot-be-good Stick" hard, connecting with the dragon Hanyou's head. Then, she began to pummel him mercilessly, her cheeks still tinged slightly red from the sudden shock from Scorch's very forward question.

"You may have changed," She snarled between hits, then hitting him one more time for good measure before throwing the bat to the side, and helping the badly beaten and overly flirtatious Scorch off the floor. "But I can still kick your ass. Understand me?" Scorch nodded his head and smiled. It was usually pretty hard to tell, but Yumi and Scorch are actually very close friends, even closer than the others. They've friends since they were babies. "Good! Now take the concealment off and get to the table." With that she walked away to the table, Kaito and Kimiko following, right before they laughed a little at Scorch for being beaten up by Yumi, for the millionth time in his life.

Scorch took off his necklace and then his body started to change. A pair of large red leathery dragon wings sprouted from his shoulder blades, and a brown, 75" long dragon tail came out of his backside. (A/N: Scorch is a dragon hanyou, in case you haven't noticed). He put it back on and the others began to go back into the dining room, even Yumi, still blushing ever so slightly. Scorch started to walk after everyone else when suddenly, Haru grabbed his arm, pulling him so close that their noses were almost touching (A/N: Haru and Scorch and the same height), and he had one of the most evilest faces you can imagine (A/N: I could be exaggerating here, though).

"If you ever say that type of stuff about my little sister like that again, I will do things to you that are so painful that you won't be able to anything on your own ever again." He growled menacingly through gritted teeth.

Scorch pulled his arm out of Haru's grasp and smirked. "Well, if you do that then Yumi could help me with everything."

Haru's eyes got wide and he yelled, "NO!" Scorch's eyebrows shot up in surprise and everyone in the dining room poked their heads out of the doorway and looked at him like he was being murdered right before they're eyes. Haru went slightly red in the face, but quickly composed himself and smacked the dragon hanyou in the back of the head. "I mean, no Scorch don't touch that. It's a... um... priceless... uh... family heirloom. Yeah." Then he walked off to the table and sat down to continue eating.

'What the Hell?' Scorch thought as he looked at Haru's back as he walked off, shortly following after him, before Botan had a hernia, because all the food that he had worked so hard to cook was getting cold.

About Thirty Minutes later

Everyone was in the large living room, after they had finished eating, and after Botan, Kane, and Kari had gotten dressed; Botan in a black t-shirt with a green flannel long-sleeved shirt over it and a pair of dark blue jeans; Kane in a maroon colored t-shirt that had a cute little blue bunny on it and a pair of tan overalls; and Kari in a light purple long-sleeved shit with a kitten on it and a magenta colored plaited skirt that went down a little below her knees. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Scorch, Yumi, Kaito, and Kimiko sat on the long black couch (in that order), Haru sat in a recliner (A/N: Raging Psyco: Barking Inuyasha called it" one of those recline-y arm-chair-thingy-bobbers"!) and Botan sat in another, Kane sitting on one knee and Kari sitting on the other (both of the chairs were black too).

Scorch, Kaito, and Kimiko were looking around the large living room. It had white colored walls with a blue tinge to it. There was a big screen TV (with a theater system) in the corner with a Playstation, PS2, Gamecube, and a X-Box surrounding it, with a basket of multi-colored game controllers and a cabinet with tons and tons of video games for the different game systems, each on different sides of the TV (A/N: The Ryu's are rich, so they have a lot of nice stuff, mostly old gifts from their families and relatives).

Decorating the mantle over the brick fireplace their were pictures of Haru, Yumi, Botan, Kane, and another boy with mahogany colored hair that nobody really remembered together as small children, babies, and Yumi, Kane, Haru and Botan as teenagers (or, in Kane's case, still a child). On some of the walls, there were also some family portraits that had Yumi and Haru together, also some that had Kane, and Botan, too. All their photos containing the deceased family members were packed away in large, deep blue boxes in the attic of the impressive Ryu mansion. They were there because the first day or two after the murders, Yumi couldn't even look at them without breaking down into hysterical sobbing, and it also pained the others to gaze upon the family they no longer had.

So the photos sat in boxes in the attic, undisturbed, as though the sight of them might attract further misfortune and unhappiness.

Yumi decided to break the silence, and she was also intensely curious. "So... Botan... What was in the package?" she finally asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. Everyone else turned to Botan, suddenly reminded of their desire to ask him what he had in the mystery package.

Botan looked side to side mischievously, and then began giggling like a young schoolgirl, bringing both clenched fists up under his chin. "It's a secret!" he tittered triumphantly.

Kane and Kari both clasped their hands together and made the most adorable faces that they could. "Is it an important secret?" they chimed in harmony, pouring in all the sweet, innocent cuteness they could muster.

Botan glanced nervously at the two, sweat breaking out on his face. He knew whenever they sat on his lap they were up to no good, and he was such a pushover, too, when in the face of such adorable cuteness. He felt his mouth beginning to form the first word when Kaito leapt in.

"Pllllleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee?" Kaito begged, attempting to recreate the adorable cuteness of Kane and Kari. He didn't notice that in doing so, he distracted Botan, and actually helped the teen seal his lips better. Kane and Kari glared at him, making swift cutting motions across their throats, trying to get Kaito to notice and back off so they could pry the secret from Botan, but Kaito was too focused on acting to notice their frantic motions, and stayed focused on Botan.

Unfortunately for Kaito, since Botan wasn't gay (gasp!), it didn't work. "Nope!" Botan declared loudly, closing his eyes and crossing his arms, "It's a secret and it will stay a secret!"

"What, do you mean this package?" Scorch asked lazily, holding said package in the air by his tail just as lazily as his voice. Without warning, Yumi pounced on the package, grabbing it from his tail.

"Hey, I had it first!" Scorch protested, obviously more interested than he tried to let on. Yumi began to pry the tape off, but Botan snatched it away first.

"This is mine, thank you very much." He said, holding the slightly battered box high in the air to his right, away from Yumi and Scorch. Haru neatly plucked it from Botan, and began to examine it. Simultaneously, Yumi, Botan, and Scorch leapt at Haru for the mystery package. As the four struggled to keep it for themselves, Kimiko and Kaito looked at each other questioningly.

"Shall we?" Kimiko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! Let's!" cried Kaito happily, and they both dove into the fray. Kane and Kari stared at them for a while, wrestling each other, the box in the center of the fray. Botan had a pretty good grip on it, but Kimiko had her teeth sunk into it and Scorch's tail was wrapped around it, too. Haru and Yumi both tried to grab it, while Kaito rolled around in everyone's way, laughing happily the whole while.

"Grown-ups are weird." Kari said, after a few moments of silence, turning to her friend.

"You can say that again." Kane stated, still watching the overly excited teens like an interesting T.V. show, fascinated by their strange antics.

"Grown-ups are weird." Kari repeated, still staring at Kane, hoping that she would suggest they should leave, which Kane did almost immediately.

"I'm bored. Let's go do something." Kane said cheerfully, and the two wandered off, probably to go do something wrong by mistake and blame it on somebody else.

Meanwhile, Yumi had succeeded at taking the package away from Botan and Kimiko, but Scorch still had his tail in a death lock around the box. Yumi knelled and bent over the box itself so nobody else could reach it, when Scorch resorted to some very desperate tactics. Acting quickly, he groped Yumi's unprotected behind. She shot up into a sitting position with a squeak of surprise, clutching the offended body part, her face turning bright red. Scorch took this as an opportunity to jerk the package out of everyone else's reach and up over his head, and then he took off down the hall, laughing maniacally. Haru saw the look on his sister's face and took off after Scorch, roaring threats all the way, with Yumi close behind him, wielding her bat with a look of rage plastered on her tomato colored face. Botan ran after Scorch too, screaming about privacy, and Kimiko chased Scorch, shouting how she wanted the box for apparently no real reason, with Kaito following everyone, getting in their way and tripping everyone except Scorch, who was running just out of reach.

Raging Psyco: Sorry gang, but there's a lot going on in this day! I promise you that it'll all be done by chapter 3, and then we can move on to school!

Barking Inuyasha: You just want me to drag this out as long as possible, don't you?

Raging Psyco: YUP! Oh, and sorry about that, Yumi! It was my idea, really! (Because I'm so evil)

Barking Inuyasha and Raging Psyco: SEE YA NEXT CHAPTER!

**END OF CHAPTER TWO.**


	3. Uniforms, Sleepovers and a Ninja

Barking Inuyasha: Hello Everyone!! I'm back with chapter 3!! I want to thank one of my best friends, Sasukeheartlover, for supplying the new character in this chapter. Now on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I own the idea, the plot and every character in this chapter... (Looks around sneakily, then Sasukeheartlover yanks the dog collar on my neck) OW! Okay! Okay! I do not own the new character! Happy?! (Sasukeheartlover giggles and nods head)

Ch. 3: Uniforms, Sleepovers, and a Pink-haired Ninja

(I know what you're thinking, but no, the 'Pink-haired Ninja' is not Haruno Sakura from Naruto)

Normal POV

Recap:

Scorch had just groped Yumi to get the box, and is now running throughout the mansion with it. Every one else is chasing after him to get it. Haru and Yumi only want to kill Scorch, for the same reason, Botan just wanted HIS box back, Kimiko was just chasing him because she was bored, and Kaito was just getting in everyone's way, laughing the whole time.

Kane and Kari, at the moment, are off somewhere else. They're probably doing something wrong, and when they are caught eventually, they'll probably blame it on Botan's dead cat, Mr. Fluffikins.

Back to the Story:

An innocent passer-by, outside the house on the sidewalk, looked at the pretty western-style mansion (That means American). It looked peaceful, put the person heard yelling and screaming inside. 'Is it a ghost?' The passer-by thought, by the look on his face, clearly frightened. He looked at the house one more time and jumped when he heard another scream. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT MANSION'S HAUNTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the passer-by then ran back home to his mother, who was an old woman, because this passer-by was a thirty-year-old shmoe who still lived with his mother.

Now, Seriously, Back to the Story

Haru was just about to grab Scorch when Kaito, with a look of pure joy on his feminine face, popped up out of nowhere, tripping Haru and making fall to the floor for the fifth time. "Dammit Kaito!!!" He yelled as the sixteen -year-old ran off, giggling all the way. He ran in front of Botan, tripping him and making the eighteen-year-old fall flat on his face. Then he ran in front of Kimiko, tripping her as well, except he didn't get away this time, because Kimiko grabbed his leg and made him fall on his face. Kaito rolled over, eyes tearing up as he whined, "Kimi-chaaaaaaaaan! I was having Fuuuuuuun!"

Yumi was the only one still on her feet. She was chasing Scorch diligently. They darted through doorways, up stairs, through conveniently placed secret passageways. She was really starting to regret showing Scorch all those secret passages when they were little. In fact, she was surprised that he remembered them. She showed them to him ten years ago, when she was four and he was seven. (A/N: Yes, they have known each other that long.)

Scorch peeked over his shoulder and smirked at her, and then veered to the left and into another secret passage. Yumi knew this one well; it was the one that he would use when they would play tag in the house. It lead down from the fourth floor (where Yumi and Kane and Kari's rooms are.) to the kitchen cupboard two floors down (where every one else is now). She knew exactly where she should go to beat him there.

Haru's POV

Damn! Falling to the floor while running at full speed hurts! It's like being punched in the stomach during a boxing match! Well, except in the face and not in the chest. Anyway, where did Yumi and Scorch run off to? Grrrr... When I get a hold of Scorch, he's gonna be a dead man! No one touches my sister there and gets away with it! I'm gonna tear him limb from limb.

I stood up and stomped over to a huge painting of a forest on the wall, and stared at it angrily. I jumped a little when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around quickly just to see Botan's surprised face.

"What d'you want?!" I snapped at him, making him flinch.

"You don't have to be so mean, Haru-kun. I just want to know why you're so mad. Are you mad at Kaito-chan for tripping you?"

"No!" I turned away from him with my eyes closed and my arms crossed, spewing fury. I had an aura of fury. I think. I was about to say something else, probably mean, when the picture all the sudden swung open and hit me in the face, making me fall to the floor.

"Haru!" I vaguely heard Kimiko, Kaito, and Botan call my name and saw Yumi jumping out from behind the painting. My vision swam from the force the painting had struck me with.

Normal POV

Yumi had just jumped out of the passage behind the big forest painting in the second floor hallway. She saw that she had also knocked her nineteen-year-old brother pretty damn hard, but she didn't have any time to stop and see how he was doing. She had to catch that perverted creep named Scorch.

She rounded the corner and into the kitchen, just as Scorch was coming out of the cupboard. He looked around and when he turned towards her, she launched herself forward, tackling him full-force in the stomach. Because she caught him off guard, Scorch fell down hard, and they landed on the floor with a thump. Scorch let his tail go slack out of surprise, and he accidentally let go of the box, sending flying to land a little above his head. Crossing her arms, Yumi straddled stomach with a triumphant look on her face.

"HAH!! I caught you, you perverted creep!!" she said loudly in his ear, making Scorch wince from the volume of her voice. Yumi leaned over him to pick up the box on the floor. Scorch wolf-whistled loudly, (Wheet-woo) and Yumi sat straight up, putting her arms over her chest and blushed fire-truck red. A few minutes later, as the blush began to clear from her face, and she picked the battered package up from beside herself, Scorch cleared his throat and smiled smugly.

"So… are you going to get off me? You know you're not exactly a feather, so it kinda hurts."

Startled, Yumi, who was just about to get off him, hearing what he said, remained seated on his stomach. Slitting her eyes and dropping the now forgotten mystery box, she hissed, "What'd'ya mean 'It kinda hurts'?" crossing her arms over her chest.

Scorch looked at her, suddenly realizing his mistake, and shrugged his shoulders awkwardly, "Well, you're not exactly a feather! Your weight on my stomach hurts" He looked more closely at her, her face was darkening and she was getting an evil look on her face. "WAIT!!! WHAT I MEAN IS-" SLAP! Yumi struck him as hard as she could across the face. "YOWCH!" Scorch yelped, rubbing the red handprint on his cheek, "What was that for?"

"For calling me fat!" She said in higher-than-usual voice.

"No, no, no!! I didn't call you fat!! I just stated that you weren't weightless!! If you were weightless, I'd be worried about you!! You'd be anorexic!!!" Scorch yelled, loud enough for any one on this floor or a floor up or down. Then they heard some loud stomping noises and...

With Haru and the Others

Haru groaned, rubbing his face in pain. The groggy sensation was leaving him as Botan leaned waaaaaay over him and screamed carefully into his ear.

"HAAAARRRUUUUU-KUUUUUUNNNN... HOOOOOW... AAAAAAAAARE... YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU... FEEEEEEEEELIIIIIIING!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!"

Haru sat up, snarling at Botan. "HOW THE HELL DO I FEEL?? I FEEL LIKE I JUST GOT SLAMMED IN THE FACE WITH A DAMN PAINTING, AND THEN HAD YOU SCREAMING IN MY EAR LIKE A FRIGGIN' BANSHEE!!! HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL?????"

Kaito squealed, clapped twice, and giggled out, "Yay!! Haru-chan's back!!"

Haru rubbed the back of his head, and turning towards Kaito, darkly replied, "Don't EVER call me 'Chan' again."

Kaito was about to tearily reply when loud shouting was heard from somewhere on the same floor. Nobody could hear much, but at the end, they heard something that sounded very clearly like "You're anorexic?!" Leaping up, Haru stomped over in the direction of the voice, with the others following behind him, not too closely.

When Haru entered the room, he saw a sight that he had never hoped to see. Yumi straddling a boy. Yumi and Scorch didn't notice Haru's entrance into the room so they continued their argument.

"I'm anorexic?!!" Yumi yelled. Haru's eyes widened. She can't be anorexic! In his panic, he didn't realize she said it in an angry, disbelieving voice. He ran over, picked Yumi up by the waist, with a "Hey!" from Yumi, and lifted her so their faces were at the same level.

"Why didn't you tell me!!!" he yelled, his face pale and eyes wide. "How could you? I'm your guardian!! They could come take you away!!!!!!!!! Or worse, you could die!!" Scorch sat up slightly, and snickered from his place on the floor. Haru, hearing this, put Yumi under his arm, as if he was holding a football, much to her displeasure, and kicked Scorch in the stomach, much to HIS displeasure. "You perverted bastard!!," Haru yelled as Scorch fell flat his back again with a grunt. "This is not a laughing matter! Yumi could die!" Yumi looked up at her brother with a look that practically said "WTF?!"

As Haru ranted on and on, Botan looked around the kitchen for his package. Finally, he spotted it. It was lying on the floor a few feet away, slightly squished and battered. One corner was dented in a wrinkly mess. Botan let out a happy squeal and made a dive for the box, sliding across the floor. He actually grabbed it, but sadly, could not stop his crazy sliding. He slid straight into the back door, the barrier opening from the force of the collision. Botan tumbled down the back porch, going straight for the outdoor pool; which coincidentally had its fence door open. The blond boy caught a glimpse of where he was going, and acting quickly for a change, threw the package back onto the porch. He then tumbled straight into the pool with a loud splash. (A/N: Raging Psyco: He's an idiot.) Kimiko and Kaito ran out just in time to see Botan fall into the pool.

"Botan-chan!!!" Kaito shrieked worriedly as he saw his older friend fall into the pool. He grabbed Kimiko's hand and pulled her along frantically. Kimiko let him drag her along, with only a sarcastic mumble of, "He knows how to swim. He's not gonna drown." and helped the now sopping Botan out while Kaito fretted abut like a first-time mother would if her kid just fell off of a chair. (A/N: Or something)

"Are you alright, Botan?" Kimiko asked helping him stand. Botan coughed a little, but smiled.

"I'm fine, Kimi-chan!" he looked over at Kaito, who was now running around frantically. "That's enough Kaito-chan!" He said with an authoritative voice, puffing out his chest in an attempt to look authoritative, but looking more like a pompous old pigeon.

Kaito froze in place, one leg in the air. "Yes Sir!" he said, trying to bark, but sounding more like a yelp, and saluted so hard he was thrown off balance and fell over. Kimiko looked at the two, one looking like a dripping bird, the other acting like an amateur soldier who'd just been recruited.

"You two are idiots." she murmured, and Kaito and Botan both anime-fall-ed. (A/N: I don't know what it's actually called. sob...) She started off back to the mansion with Botan and Kaito running after her, whining and crying (In Kaito's case) about how she didn't mean it, really? Did she?

When they were back in the house, they got to see the outcome of what was going on before. Apparently, Yumi had finally convinced her brother that she wasn't really anorexic, so he was done freaking out. Instead, he was standing above Scorch with his eyes in shadows and a crazy-like evil smile. He was laughing evilly, Scorch was sweating enough for someone to drown in it, and Yumi just watched, slightly amused, from the spot on the floor where she had been discarded. (After Haru stopped freaking out. Well, he had to so he could menace Scorch.)

"H-H-Haru?" Scorch stammered, slowly scooting backward on his bottom, not taking his eyes off of his 'friend'.

Haru chuckled darkly, "You're a dead man, Scorch! A dead man!" He slowly advanced, and Scorch quickly rolled over and tried to crawl away, but Haru grabbed his tail and started dragging the dragon-hanyou down the hallway to the bathroom. Scorch clawed at the floor desperately, leaving long claw marks all down the hall carpet that were somewhat stained with blood, sweating enough to fill the swimming pool. Haru kept laughing evilly. (A/N: Raging Psyco: The evil king!! Ehehe, sorry, just kidding, no offence meant!)

Botan, after they heard one of the bathroom doors (A/N: There are two bathrooms on the third floor) slam, and went to his room to change his clothes, taking the precious, beat-up box with him. Yumi watched her cousin with a slightly confused look. The fourteen-year-old turned to her friends with a question on her face, which she then voiced aloud. "Why was Botan all wet?"

Kaito giggled, "Botan-chan fell in the pool by accident!" Kimiko also laughed, and Yumi joined them.

"So... What have you guys been doing since I moved away?" Yumi had been dying to ask for a while now. The three of them walked back into the living room and sat on the floor.

"Well, Kaito has a secret boyfriend." Kimiko stage whispered, her hand beside her face in an exaggerated manner. Kaito blushed bright red.

"Kimi-chan!!! Now it's not a secret anymore!!!" he whined, pouting and hitting the floor with the palm of his hand like a little child. He looked at Yumi with a half-worried, half-hopeful expression, hoping that she wouldn't freak out.

"That's great Kaito-Chan!" she hugged him tightly. Kaito looked surprised when she pulled away.

"You don't think it's gross?" the brunette asked, cocking his head to the side.

Yumi laughed, "Of course not! What's he like?" she asked, and nudged Kaito in the ribs. Kimiko mumbled something about going on and on, in a no doubt sarcastic voice.

"Well, he's tall; he has black hair and purpely-blue eyes that are so gorgeous! He's nice, and funny, and handsome too! I love him a lot!" Kaito gushed, giggling quietly with a dreamy look in his eyes, "And he's so good to me, he even avoids any signs of affection in front of my father. He tells me he loves me (and he means it) every time we see each other, and he stands up for me when we're not with Kimi-chan."

Yumi smiled gently, "He sounds amazing, Kaito. I'm so happy for you." she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him warmly.

"Anyway, Kimi-chan's a writer! She's on the paper and everything! She's really good!" Kaito said, pointing a little at the bluenette. (A/N: 'Cuz her hair's blue!)

Yumi looked at Kimiko, "Really? Well, no surprises there. You used to love making up really cool stories when we were little. What part on the paper do you have?"

Kimiko shrugged, "I have a creative writing space on it. I'm also the co-editor"

"That's so cool!" Yumi said, patting her friend on the back.

The other two looked at the maroon haired girl for a moment, until Kimiko asked, "What have you been doing for the past six years, Yumi-chan?"

Yumi looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, I started to learn self defense when I was ten, and I like art. Some of my stuff was put in an art show once."

"Wow!!! You'll have to show us sometime!" Kaito chirped happily, Kimiko nodding in agreement. Before anyone could say anything else, though, Botan chose that time to come out of his room. Now he was wearing a bright blue long-sleeved shirt with some black jeans. He had the box tucked safely under his arm.

"Hey guys!" he said happily, sitting down on the floor behind Kimiko and Kaito, setting the box in his lap. "When Haru finishes in the bathroom, which should be any minute now, I'll open the box!"

Haru chose that time to appear next to him, apparently finished with Scorch. "You mean to tell me that we went through all that shit, and you were just going to show us anyway?" he growled slowly.

Botan smiled brightly, "Of course! I just wanted to be the one who opened it. It was addressed to me and I paid for it." He said in a matter-of-fact voice, placing one hand on his chest briefly.

Yumi and Haru smacked him in the back of the head at the same time, saying, "You're an idiot."

Kimiko rolled her eyes (A/N: Raging Psyco: Sarcastically!) as Kaito giggled into his hand. "So what's in the box?" Kimiko said tiredly.

"I'm glad you asked, Kim-chan!" the blond boy said, beaming brightly. He opened the box and everyone leaned in to get a closer look. He pulled something out dramatically, revealing a large, long-sleeved dress shirt that had vertical gold and silver stripes, with gold collar and cuffs. "It's Haru, Yumi, Kane, Kari, and my school uniforms!," he said cheerfully, then handed the shirt to the red head behind him, "This shirt's yours, Haru-kun."

Yumi gave the shirt a bad look, "Does it have to be those colors? I don't mind the silver, but the gold is so tacky!"

Kaito looked at her sympathetically, "Sorry Yumi-chan, but you have to wear those colors. Kimi-chan and I have to wear dark blue and purple since I'm a lord and she's a lady. The kids not of nobility wear red and black, like Scorchie-chan and Kari-chan. The royalty, at least since Akimoto-oujo took over as principal, have to wear gold and silver."

"Man... that sucks." Yumi said, looking at the floor. She looked up as Botan gave Kimiko and bundle of silver and gold.

"Why are you giving me this?" the dog demon asked curiously, eyeing the blond doofus chef person skeptically.

Botan, still smiling, replied "I want you and Yumi to go into the bathroom, and you, Kimiko, are gonna help Yumi dress since she won't be able to see. I want to make sure the uniforms fits." As he said this, Botan put a pair of silver pants from the box over Yumi's head, blindfolding her weirdly. The girls shrugged, got up and walked down the hall and entered the first bathroom on the hall. Kimiko quickly left that one with slightly green face, steering Yumi, who as asking Kimiko something, and went into the other one.

Botan and Kaito both cocked their heads to the side, staring at Haru, who looked very smug. "Why'd they leave that one?" Kaito asked.

Haru snickered evilly, "That's the bathroom that I left the pervert."

The two other boys grimaced and dropped the subject and sat, Kaito humming a tune, waiting for the girls to come out.

"What's that song?" asked Botan, feeling a need to talk.

"It's my favorite song by my favorite band, Bad Luck." Kaito replied, with a sigh. "Shuichi-chan's cute, but he's already spoken for." Kaito continued to hum to himself, air guitaring while Haru shifted on the sofa, tapping his fingers on the arm, already impatient.

Finally, after about five minutes, Kimiko walked out. The guys watched as Kimiko walked a few feet, until she saw their faces and looked behind herself, noticed that she was alone. With a sigh, she turned around and went back into the bathroom. She came back out, dragging Yumi along behind her.

"May I present Ryu Yumi." Kimiko said, and moved out of the way to reveal Yumi in a silver, long-sleeved, collared shirt with gold cuffs, a small gold tie, and a short gold pleated skirt that ended about three or four inches above her knees. Yumi herself was frowning, trying to pull the skirt down lower.

Haru made a face while both Botan and Kaito's eyes got all big, "Oh my gosh!!!!! You look so cute!!!" they squealed in unison.

Yumi made a face that was almost identical to Haru's, "No, I don't!" She half shouted, and yanked at the skirt some more. "It's too short!"

"That's for sure!" Haru said sternly. "I am not letting my little sister walk around the school in THAT. There's probably guys like that perverted bastard in the bathroom at school!!"

Botan hit Haru lightly on the arm, "No there isn't, Haru-kun, don't be silly! Also, even if there was, Yumi has no choice but to wear that, all the girls do."

"Yeah, my uniform is exactly like that, except the shirt is purple and the tie, cuffs, and skirt are dark blue." Kimiko said plainly, waving her hand dismissively.

Yumi was about to ask if she could change back into her original clothing when Kane and Kari came running in with guilty expressions on their faces. Everyone looked at them.

Haru sighed, almost theatrically, and asked "What did you two do?"

Kane looked at her left foot, which was tracing guilty patterns on the floor, "Well... you see, Haru-niikun, we were playing-"

"-and we were running around in the fifth floor" Kari interjected, scratching her face.

"You were in my office... weren't you?" the soon-to-be-king said in a bored voice.

The two girls looked at each other "Uh... no! It, ummmm, it was Mr. Fluffykins!" they blurted together.

At the mention of his deceased cat's name, Botan burst into tears and flung himself at Haru, who caught him out of reflex, then held him back so he wouldn't get covered in snot and tears. Everyone looked at the hysterical boy, who was ranting incoherently about his "darling kitty", with deadpan eyes. Haru, after getting too annoyed, pushed Botan off and he fell on top of Kaito.

They fell on the floor, the smaller boy laying there breathless and in shock for a few seconds. You would be too if someone fell on you that are almost a foot taller than you and weighed more as well (Kaito is very, very small, in height and weight.). Once he regained his bearings, he patted his distressed older friend on the back.

"It's okay, Botan-chan. No need to cry." He said soothingly, not noticing the eyes of the others watching him. Also, unbeknownst to the group, Scorch finally came out of the bathroom. He had made himself presentable, because Haru tends to go over board when it comes to his sister. Scorch knows he shouldn't provoke the siblings like he does, but he thinks that it's funny, so he does it anyway.

Scorch saw two very odd things: Botan lying on top of Kaito, sobbing his eyes out; and Yumi in a mini skirt. Wait! Yumi in a mini skirt? When did this happen? … She looks good in it….

"Whoa…" he whispered in an awed voice.

Yumi turned around at the sound of his voice to see him looking at her appreciably. She blushed and, with out warning, hit him in the gut with her bat. Scorch fell with grunt and laid there as Yumi ran over to the bathroom to change.

Haru, for once, didn't notice the pervert's entrance or see his act of pervertedness. He was too busy trying to pull Botan off of Kaito, but surprisingly, Botan had a really tight grip. Kimiko started to help and they managed to get the boy off. As the bluenette helped her friend off the floor and made sure he was alright, Haru was trying to get Botan to stop crying.

"Stop crying like a baby! Be a man!" Haru said sternly, shaking Botan by the shoulders roughly.

Botan cried some more. Mr. Fluffi-i-i-ik-i-i-ins-s-s…" the distressed young man lashed out and grabbed Haru around the shoulders and buried his head into the elder's neck, crying even harder.

Haru looked at his cousin's head in pure horror, his right eye twitching uncontrollably. This was as close as he never wanted to be near Botan. Hasn't he ever heard of personal space? Kimiko watched the two, slightly amused, while Kaito went on and on about family closeness and how beautiful it was.

Before Haru could even do anything, there were two tugs at his pants. He looked down to see Kane and Kari, who had scheming looks on their faces. The girls calmly walked around him to Botan and they each hugged him around the waist.

Botan calmed down just a little, and looked down (with out letting Haru go) at the two girls. They were rubbing their faces into his sides, and they looked up at him with tearful eyes.

"We're sorry Onii-chan." Kane whimpered, holding onto his shirt with one hand and wiping her eyes with the other.

Kari rubbed her face into his side some more and mewed liked the kitten she is. She even let her ears droop for a better effect. "We didn't mean to make you sad, Botan-niisan, I can transform into a kitty for you if you like." She moved her hands to the clasp of her pink cat collar, ready to take it off so she could change forms.

Botan moved her hands away and stooped down and hugged the two young girls. "You don't have to do that," he said softly, eyes full of tears, completely forgetting what he was bawling about before.

The girls squealed and hugged their guardian back. In the background, Kimiko and Haru had just noticed Scorch's dazed and winded form on the floor, and Yumi's disappearance somewhere. Kimiko crouched down next to the dragon hanyou and started to poke him in the side with a bored expression on her face, while Haru went off to find his sister.

Kaito, on the other hand, was oblivious to the others behind him. His eyes had grown two times their normal size (A/N: Which were already big to begin with. His eyes I mean), and had filled with tears. He had his hands clasped together under his chin, watching Botan and his little charges. "It's… so beautiful…" he sniffled.

After everything that was going on had stopped; like when Kane and Kari didn't feel like hugging any more, Scorch had gotten up and stopped Kimiko from poking him, Haru had come back with Yumi (Yumi with an angry/embarrassed face and Haru with his normal stoic look A/N: I'm guessing Haru accidentally walked in on his sister as she was changing back into her original clothes), and Kaito stopped gushing and latched onto Kimiko's arm; they all decided to go and do their own things.

Yumi, Kimiko, Scorch, and Kaito all went outside in the backyard, which was huge, to catch up and hang out. This included Scorch getting repeatedly hit by Yumi for his remarks, or actions, or whatever he was doing, Kaito having a few freak outs about bugs, and Kimiko becoming a bug murderer to make him calm down.

Botan went and played with Kane and Kari. This included playing hide and seek, tag, and for some reason, giving the girls a cooking lesson. Haru went up to his office on the fifth floor to do some of his kingly duties, like paperwork and such. (A/N: Raging Psyco: He's more like a president ceremonial boss-man king guy dude person… I'm sorry I'm so confusing.)

A few hours later: 8:00 PM

Everyone was downstairs in the living room, except for Kane and Kari, who were in bed. They were all sitting in the living room and chatting with each other until Botan had a sudden idea.

"Why don't the three of you stay over tonight? It's already kind of late, and I'm sure that your parents won't mind, even if it is the night before the first day of school." At this, Kimiko looked at him, then at Kaito and smiled, and Kaito himself squealed in pure delight.

"Really?!! Omigod! This is so great!" Kaito paused for a moment, "But I'll have to call Okaa-chan and Otou-san and ask first." He bounced up happily and skipped to the kitchen where the phone was. (Okaa-san Mother/mom/mommy etc. Otou-san Father/dad/daddy etc.)

"I'll have to call Aniki, too." Kimiko said, getting up to follow her enthusiastic friend. (Aniki big brother)

After a few minutes, Yumi looked at Scorch expectantly. He was just sitting there next to her. "Don't you have to call Kanaye-san?"

Scorch looked over at her and waved his hand in a dismissive matter. "Nah, I don't live with Dad anymore. He and my little sister live in an area where mostly demons live. I still live where we used to."

"Oh. Well that's convenient." Haru said, interrupting and shrugging his shoulders. Yumi was about to ask Scorch a question when Kimiko and Kaito came back.

"We got the okay." Kimiko said, sitting back down in her original spot with a slight smile. Kaito followed her lead and sat next to her, beaming like a ray of sunshine.

"Well, we've all got school tomorrow, and we'll have to get up early so you guys to pick up your uniforms and stuff, so let's all get ready for bed."

The younger teenagers muttered they're agreements and made they're way to the elevator. Scorch, followed last, was stopped by Haru.

"You're sleeping in the room across the hall from Yumi's." He said sternly.

Scorch cocked an eyebrow. (A/N: Raging Psyco: Scorch is the eyebrow moving master!) "Why?"

The older boy's brow furrowed and he crossed his arms. "Because you're a boy and a pervert, so you're not allowed near my sister's room at night or alone."

"But Kaito's a boy." Scorch countered.

"But see, he doesn't like girls that way, and he's practically a girl anyway, so he doesn't count." (A/N: Look at what they're saying about you, Kaito-chan!)

The dragon hanyou rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Whatever Haru." And with that he walked into the elevator and pushed the up button. The door closed and he was gone. Haru huffed, crossed his arms and scowled at the elevator doors for a minute, then went down the hall to his own room and slammed the door.

-With Yumi, Kaito, and Kimiko-

Yumi's walls were painted in many shades of red. From her ceiling to her floor, the color faded from dark to light. In the furthest corner from the door, there was a queen sized bed that had sheets and comforter that were a red that was so dark that it was almost black. She had a closet that was a moderate size, two dressers and a desk. On her walls were assorted drawings she had drawn and a few photographs of things that she liked, like dogs. She had always liked dogs, Haru did as well. They just never got around to getting one. The room would be even better IF Yumi cleaned the floor of her room, which she won't because she doesn't feel like it most of the time (A/N: That's how I always feel, so my rooms like that too.).

Kimiko and Kaito followed their younger friend, and looked at the large room in appreciation (Kimiko looking amused at the sight of the mess, while Kaito looked slightly disturbed).

"Oh my goodness gracious!" He squeaked, staring at the mountains of stuff on the floor. "I can't even see your floor, there's so much stuff on it!'

"You sound like a mom, Kaito." Kimiko laughed. "Not everyone is as good at cleaning as you and Botan are."

Kaito puffed out his cheeks in a pout. "Kimi-chan! It's not nice to tease." He stamped his foot. Kimiko laughed quietly at the sight, which made Kaito blush and pout even more.

Yumi laughed as she watch her friends, then she noticed something. "Hey, where's Scorch?"

Kaito, who had started trying to clean up the clutter off the floor, stood back up from his bended position and tilted his head to the side with a finger to his chin. "Hmph… he was just behind us, wasn't he?"

"I know! Where did he go?" the red head huffed. "Sometimes I wonder about him."

Kimiko chose now to make a comment. "Actually, I saw Haru pull Scorch aside before he could follow us into the elevator."

"Oh. Well then he should be just getting out of the elevator now." Yumi said walking toward the door.

"How would you know, Yumi-chan?" Kaito asked, curious.

Yumi turned around and smiled. "Haru never beats around the bush when he talks to someone, so conversations are pretty short. If I know my Nii-san right, which I do, he should've ended whatever conversation he was having with Scorch as quick as he can."

Kimiko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You and Haru-san are really close aren't you?"

Yumi frowned for a moment and the made a small smile. "I guess you could say that." She turned toward the door, "I'm gonna go see what those two talked about, see you in a few." she said with a wave and walked out the door.

The princess walked down the hall toward the elevator, getting there just as it opened. The dragon walked out, and jumped slightly when he noticed her.

"Hey." Scorch walked up and leaned against the wall in front of her.

"Hey, where were you?" she asked looking up at him.

Scorch rolled his eyes, "Haru pulled me aside to tell me that I'm not allowed in your room at night, and that I have to sleep in the room across from yours."

The younger girl's brow furrowed and she scoffed, "Why?"

Scorch smirked and stepped in front of her to block her body against the wall, then put each hand on the wall on either side of Yumi's head. She was shocked, so for once she didn't try to move. He leaned in so he was breathing in her ear. "Because he says I'm a pervert that'll try to _deflower_ his precious little sister." He whispered huskily. Yumi's face turned flaming red and, finally able to react, she punched him in the face.

"Ow! I was only kidding!" He yelped, rubbing his newly acquired bruise.

Yumi laughed at him quietly, and Scorch glared slightly at her, but also started to laugh. After a minute of two, they calmed down and began walking down the hall.

"You know, you never told me what you've done in the past two years since we saw each other last." Yumi nudged her friend in the ribs. At the mention of the phrase "the last two years", Scorch stopped, visibly stiffened and his wide smile fell.

Yumi's eyes widened as she caught on to her own mistake. She frowned, took her friends hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said-"

"Nah, it's okay. Don't worry about it" the dragon laughed nervously, and smiled at her. Yumi's brow furrowed more and she looked at him worriedly. "I mean it, Yumi. It's fine." He looked at their conjoined hands and smirked. "Are you comfortable doing that? I mean, holding my hand so soothingly?"

Yumi frowned and flung his hand away. She turned away form him and walked back to her room. Scorch chuckled lightly and followed her to the room that was across from hers. "Nighty night, Yumi!" he called as she opened the door of her room.

Yumi glanced over her shoulders and grinned slightly. "'Night." She called as she waved dismissively and shut the door.

Around 3:00 A.M,

Most of the remaining members of the Ryu family have very odd sleeping habits. Haru, for example, has a problem that's slightly like sleep walking, except if he's having a violent dream, he tends to act out the dream by beating up inanimate objects in his room and around the house if he walks out of his room. Yumi has the same problem, but normally it's not as bad as Haru's. Botan has what his family and friends like to call "sleep cooking". "Sleep cooking" is like sleep walking, except you cook while you're asleep and walking. Kane is the only one without a sleeping disorder; she's the only normal member of the family.

Anyway, back to the story:

It was quiet in the house. No, wait, it wasn't quiet. There were light footsteps coming down the hall. A sleep-tousled Botan was walking down the hall, his eyes still closed. He was sleep walking, and that could only mean one thing, he was headed for the kitchen. When he got there, he pulled a frying pan out from under the counter and put it on one of the four burners of his precious oven. He turned the burner up to as high as it would go, and started to dig around in the refrigerator. He pulled out an egg, and put in a bowl. Then he reached into the cupboard above his head and pulled out some olive oil and a jar of peanut butter. Botan poured some of the oil into the frying pan and some into the bowl with the egg along with four giant spoonfuls of peanut butter. He then crushed the egg with a with a meat tenderizer, and mixed the disgusting concoction around with an egg beater, and poured into the pan as well. Reaching into the fridge, he pulls out some cooked liver and a head of cabbage. In his mind, he was making a delicious pancake, but in reality, it was what maybe one of the foulest things anyone had ever made.

All of the sudden, after carefully ripping the cabbage to shreds and adding it to the pan, Botan turned around and walked out of the room. He came back with one of Haru's shoes and tripped a well concealed wire. Right as he got back to his precious oven, someone jumped though the window.

The person was a girl. She had long pink hair, and was wearing a long black coat; on her forehead was a metal headband that had the Ryu Kingdom seal on it (which is a star with a dragon coiled around it). She landed in front of Botan and pulled out two short swords from behind her back. Dramatically posed in a defensive position, she began a heroic speech.

"I, Hikairi Yuri, the head shinobi bodyguard for their majesties the Ryus, have pledged my heart and soul that I shall protect them with every last breath in my lungs; beat in my heart, and ounce of strength left in my body. While I still breathe, you shall not touch a single hair on a Ryu's head, foulest of scum, for we Hikairi can be trusted to perform their given tasks with such skill and conviction that all others are lacking. None shall menace the honorable Ryu family while I am living!" The girl declared defiantly.

She was about to take another breath to say something else when a frying pan with some unidentifiable goop and a shoe was shoved abruptly into her face. The foul smelling goop bubbled slowly and in a really disgusting way as an ominous voice intoned:

"Eat the pancake…"

End of Chapter 3

Barking Inuyasha: I finally finished it. I'm really sorry that it took so long. I have my reasons! First we moved to Virginia, then I was just too lazy, then my dad had to go to Iraq, so I had to baby-sit; in fact, I'm baby-sitting right now.

Raging Psyco: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEEEEASE!!!!!!! B.I. finally wrote a chapter ending mostly herself!


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